I’ve always believed in discipline. It’s the engine of progress the reason you show up, even when you don’t feel like it. But there’s a shadow side to discipline: the point where structure hardens into dogma, and you start following the system instead of listening to your body.
That’s when progress stops feeling alive.
I’ve spent a lifetime immersed in physical disciplines kung fu, Greco-Roman wrestling, yoga, and years of teaching others to move. The deeper I went, the more I realised how easily tradition can become a trap. Systems can start out as scaffolding for growth but end up as cages for creativity.
True discipline isn’t about repetition it’s about responsiveness.
When I began experimenting adding martial arts drills to yoga, strength work to flow, movement games to mobility I started hearing criticism: “You’re not doing it right.” But what does “right” even mean when the goal is evolution?
If the body adapts, shouldn’t the method adapt too?
That’s the mindset we live by at RB100.Fitness — Relentless Bravery. The courage to question, to reimagine, to step outside the box of tradition and still hold yourself to a higher standard. It’s not rebellion for its own sake; it’s evolution through awareness.
“Dogma demands obedience. Discipline invites discovery.”
— Mark Freeth, RB100.Fitness
In training, discipline means showing up. Dogma means refusing to change. And those two paths diverge fast.
When you’re brave enough to strip away the labels: yoga, fitness, movement, whatever you start seeing how strength, agility, and creativity actually share the same roots.
The goal isn’t to abandon structure; it’s to move through it.
- To find form, and then flow beyond it.
- To keep learning, keep questioning, keep playing.
Because when you train with discipline but without dogma you don’t just build a stronger body.
You build a braver one.
Internal Links
- Explore RB100 Challenges — test your discipline through movement.
- Read Why Play Belongs in Every Practice — the first article in Mark’s Relentless Bravery series.
External Links
- Mensfitness.co.uk — exploring athletic mindset and performance.
- Freestyle Movement Project — Mark’s movement evolution platform.
- Functionalyoga.uk — where yoga meets strength and adaptability.
